10' (twin 5' blades) brush hog question

[dieselcrawler]

I have been dream shopping on tractor house, and am intrigued by the 10' brush hogs that seem to simply be 2 five footers made into one, with a center gearbox to split the pto to both.

Do both sets of blades turn the same direction or does one turn 'backwards' so the tips are going the same direction in the center where they would have to come close to each other or even over lap a bit to not leave a strip of uncut material in the center. Or are they set up so that the blades are 90° out of sync with the other side, so that only one blade at a time can be in the center space?

When money permits me to buy a larger tractor, I can see a 10' brush hog being one of the accessories it gets. I may even build it myself, as I'm sure I can do so cheaper than buying one, as there are plenty of old 5'ers around to grab on the cheap. The center gear box would be the only issue.

Anybody have one, and care to educate me?

 

[4570Man]

The center gearbox is $$$. Unless you find one at a scrap yard they are too expensive to make such a project worth while.

 

[4570Man]

I was thinking on the idea. With some modifications the rear axle from a 1 ton or larger truck might work for a center gear box.

 

[ishiboo]

Or, don't use a center gearbox. Have a short PTO stub with two sprockets in the center and drive both sides with chains.

I thought about this too, but 10' is a big unit and it would take a lot of money and time to get it going. A 12' or 15' batwing is the way to go IMO.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I like the truck diff idea, but then one set of blades would turn backwards, and need reverse cut blades. There would also be the gear reduction from the axle, that would not be needed.

As rough as my ground is, I want a 3ph mounted mower, not a towable batwing type.

 

[BHD]

I have a 10 foot mower, and it is great out in the open, but if mowing ditches it is a little wide and either your digging the edges in the dirt or the center can be 18' tall cut,

here is a 10' center box H-610T 75Hp Gearbox T Type-W/Splined Input & Output Shafts $220

 

[dieselcrawler]

BHD: can you describe the function of your mower, as in layout of drive shafts, gear boxes and blades, and their relative rotation directions?

 

[dieselcrawler]

What I have is alot of hillside, that I would travel up and down, and leave the rough areas uncut or cut with my current smaller tractor and mower.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I am also dreaming up a way to build my mower so that it can flex in the center, to allow it to better follow the contour of rough ground. I have a few years to think about this design and how to overcome the issues with it.

 

[leonz]

I have been dream shopping on tractor house, and am intrigued by the 10' brush hogs that seem to simply be 2 five footers made into one, with a center gearbox to split the pto to both.

Do both sets of blades turn the same direction or does one turn 'backwards' so the tips are going the same direction in the center where they would have to come close to each other or even over lap a bit to not leave a strip of uncut material in the center. Or are they set up so that the blades are 90° out of sync with the other side, so that only one blade at a time can be in the center space?

When money permits me to buy a larger tractor, I can see a 10' brush hog being one of the accessories it gets. I may even build it myself, as I'm sure I can do so cheaper than buying one, as there are plenty of old 5'ers around to grab on the cheap. The center gear box would be the only issue.

Anybody have one, and care to educate me?

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Do not waste your time; you cannot build them less expensively as these
machines are built on an as ordered basis with a huge amount of machinery
available to the mechanics and welders that assemble them in a huge factory
assembly jig that prevents the steel from becoming distorted while welding
them together.

The three stub gearboxes are also very very very expensive to buy by
themselves as they are rated using horsepower size and more costly than your BX tractor.

It takes a lot to assemble one of theses as the power take off shafts and
right angle gearboxes ans lift cylinders have to be attached at a diagonal if they are to
remain connected with the wing mower or mowers in a trailing configuration to allow the
wing or wings to be lifted in a straight line.

The other issue is the continuous hinge or hinges needed on the base frame and wings
with heavy tubular barstock steel and angle iron that must be welded on in pieces and must support the
frame or frames of the rotary cutter segments.

Every inch of the rotary wing is both supported and stressed by the hinge or hinges. If you see the under side of these rotary cuttes you will see a huge amount fo steel that is used to strengthen the plate weldments AND THEY STILL CRACK.


The other issue is the lift and whether you want to use springs or hydraulics and that is another issue as the springs will be simpler to use and secure as the cylinder mount has to be placed at the exact location where it can lift the wing or wings with no interference AND there is the decision as to whether you want a double acting set of 2 cylinders or single double acting cylinder THAT must be located on the upper weldment diagonally as well to allow the hydraulic energy to be used without having the relief valve pop off.

A set of heavy disc harrow springs will be simpler as long as the wing is chained or pinned in place for transport.

Spend your money on tone of the two smaller Land Pride flail mower that are made by the Maschio family in Italy.
It will let you mow heavy brush easily with your JD3005 mule simply by opening the trash door and bolting the
door open and then closing it back up for finish mowing.

You can buy a surplus flail mower from a municipal equipment auction too.

These machines are not run that hard and they will give you a
two inch cut without batting an eyelash and you can buy a bigger tractor if you want.